Teachers' Conflict Management Styles With Peers and Students' Parents

Abstract

Education, in settings with globalized migrant populations, does not automatically lead to peace: for instance, Othering narratives (in interpersonal interaction or curriculum texts) may exacerbate destructive social conflict when uncontested. Paradoxically, in pedagogies that do invite discussion of conflicting viewpoints, marginalized students may be reluctant to voice divergent perspectives, or may be treated disrespectfully. We probed this puzzle through an exploratory quantitative and qualitative survey of how 68 novice teachers approached conflict and ethnocultural diversity in their classrooms. Most expressed some confidence in their capacities to address conflict, though many reported feeling alone, intimidated, or unwilling to engage students in constructive conflict talk. Several emphasized that responding to students' diversities was an important part of their conflict management, while others said they treated all students the same way. Most said they needed more education and support in order to address conflict educatively in their classrooms. How do novice teachers address (or ignore) conflicts and differences with and among diverse students? How might these approaches to conflict shape implicit and explicit learning opportunities? How might various kinds of conflict dialogue in classrooms help to build (or impede) positive peace, for diverse students in particular? We probed these questions with an exploratory survey of 35 pre-service teacher candidates and 33 first-year teachers trained in the Greater Toronto Area. Most of these diverse novice teachers were teaching in culturally diverse urban settings; however, some of these settings were relatively comfortable while others were resource-deprived, which evidently influenced the conflict cultures of their classrooms. Study participants' perceptions of ethnocultural diversity and the role of the teacher in conflict education informed the choices they made in addressing classroom conflict-and were informed by their initial teacher education experiences-in contrasting ways. Many understood conflict as primarily a discipline problem, for which some disproportionately blamed their lowest status students. Few reported intentionally introducing or guiding dialogue about conflict, such as questions of social

Teachers’ patterns of management of conflicts with students: A study in five European countries

“…Nevertheless, research also highlighted that the conflict has to be considered not only a source of pressure in teaching profession but also a significant opportunity for development and enhancement of skills, critical reflection, and growth at personal, interpersonal and group level ( Doğan, 2016 ). Consequently, particular attention should be given not only to teachers’ ability to avoid conflict emergency but also to teachers' ability to adequately handle conflicts and to adopt constructive and creative management strategies without disrupting the educational goals and without affecting the relationship with students and the class harmony ( Balay, 2006 ; Cornille, Pestle, & Vanwy 1999 ; Doğan, 2016 ; García-Moya, Brooks, & Moreno, 2019 ; Longaretti & Wilson 2006 ; Özgan, 2016 ).…”

Academics Conflict Management Styles

“…Another study conducted on teachers showed that teachers as a group are more likely to avoid conflict and be more accomodating than are other professionals. It was also found that teachers' conflict management styles do not vary in different contexts (Cornille, Pestle & Vanwy, 1999).…”

Impact of culture differences on performance of international construction joint ventures: the moderating role of conflict management

“…Scales of conflict management approaches were developed from a series of experimental studies and questionnaire studies (Alper et al , 2000; Barker et al , 1988; Tjosvold et al , 2003). Currently, the instrument for conflict management measures mainly consists of conflicts management survey, conflict management-of-differences instrument, organizational communication conflict instrument, conflict management message style and organization conflict inventory-II (ROCI-II) (Cornille et al , 1999; Hall, 1969; Putnam and Wilson, 1982; Rahim, 1983; Ross and DeWine, 1988). Each instrument covers different approaches of conflict management.…”